Rabár, Ferenc (b. June 4, 1929, Budapest, Hungary - d. Dec. 29, 1999, Budapest), Hungarian politician. He was finance minister in Hungary's first democratically elected government after communism. Serving in Prime Minister József Antall's centre-right government between May and December 1990, he was a member of the cabinet's junior coalition partner, the Christian Democratic People's Party.

Rabbani, Mullah Mohammad (b. 1956, Pashmol, Kandahar province, Afghanistan - d. April 16, 2001, Rawalpindi, Pakistan), Afghan leader. He was among the first wave of Taliban who swept into Kabul in September 1996, driving warring Islamic factions led by former defense chief Ahmad Shah Masood and Pres. Burhanuddin Rabbani from the capital. Mohammad Rabbani is believed to have ordered the execution of Afghanistan's former communist leader Mohammad Najibullah, who had been living in a UN compound in Kabul since 1992. Najibullah was dragged from the compound, tortured, and hanged. His body was left hanging in the city for two days before it was taken down. Rabbani was considered a powerful man in the Taliban movement, heading the governing ministers' council, second only to the reclusive leader Mullah Mohammad Omar. Rabbani was a strong advocate of the hardline Islamic rule practiced by the Taliban.

Rabbani, Salahuddin (b. May 10, 1971, Kabul, Afghanistan), foreign minister of Afghanistan (2015- ); son of Burhanuddin Rabbani. He was also ambassador to Turkey (2010-12).

Rabemananjara, Jacques (Félicien) (b. June 23, 1913, Maroantsetra, Toamasina province, Madagascar - d. April 2, 2005, Paris, France), foreign minister (1967-72) and vice president (1971-72) of Madagascar and member of the presidential triumvirate acting for Philibert Tsiranana (1970). He was sentenced first to death, then to hard labour for life, for his alleged participation in the 1947 revolt in Madagascar, then was imprisoned in France, released but put under surveillance in 1956, and finally amnestied in October 1959. Following his return to Madagascar in July 1960 he became minister of the national economy in October 1960, was elected mayor of Tamatave in January 1965, and appointed minister of agriculture, water, forestry, lands, and food in August 1965, before becoming foreign minister in July 1967. After the 1972 revolution Rabemananjara, who was also a noted playwright and poet, went into voluntary exile in France. He returned in 1992 to run for president, but won only 2.9% of the vote.

Rabin, Yitzhak (b. March 1, 1922, Jerusalem, Palestine - d. Nov. 4, 1995, Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel), prime minister of Israel (1974-77, 1992-95). He joined the Palmach, the commando unit of the Haganah (Jewish defense forces), in 1941 and fought in the 1948 war of independence. He became army chief of staff in 1964 and conceived the strategies of swift mobilization of reserves and destruction of enemy aircraft on the ground that helped Israel win the Six-Day War (1967). On retirement from the army, he became ambassador to the United States (1968-73). He was elected to the Knesset (parliament) as a member of the Labour Party in December 1973 and joined Prime Minister Golda Meir's cabinet as minister of labour in March 1974. After Meir resigned in April, he became party leader and, in June, Israel's first native-born prime minister. During the 1977 electoral campaign, he stepped down as prime minister and Labour leader owing to a controversy over technical irregularities in his finances. He was defense minister in the Labour-Likud coalition governments of 1984-90, taking a hardline position during the Palestinian intifada. In February 1992 he regained the leadership of the Labour Party in a membership vote. After Labour's victory in the June general elections, he again became prime minister. Negotiations with the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) culminated in September 1993 in a historic accord in which Israel recognized the PLO and agreed to limited Palestinian self-rule in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Along with his foreign minister Shimon Peres and PLO leader Yasir Arafat, he received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1994. While attending a peace rally he was assassinated by a Jewish extremist opposed to Israel's concessions to the PLO.

Raborn

Raborn, William F(rancis), Jr. (b. June 8, 1905, Decatur, Texas - d. March 6, 1990, Washington, D.C.), director of the Central Intelligence Agency (1965-66). A Navy aviator, he served aboard aircraft carriers in World War II and commanded the carrier Bennington after the war. In 1955, he was chosen to head Navy missile development and brought in the nuclear-tipped Polaris missile on time and on budget. It was the first solid-fuel long-range missile launchable from a submerged submarine. The retired vice admiral was appointed by Pres. Lyndon B. Johnson to head the CIA in 1965.

Rabuka

Rabuka, Sitiveni (Ligamamada), byname Steve Rabuka (b. Sept. 13, 1948, Nakobo, Cakaudrove province, Fiji), Fijian leader. He commanded the Fiji contingent in Lebanon in 1980 and Fiji's 2nd Battalion with the Sinai Peacekeeping Force in 1984. In between, he served as general staff officer in charge of training; in 1985 he became staff officer (Operations and Training) and was ranked third in the Fijian Army. On May 14, 1987, he led a coup that overthrew the recently elected coalition government of Timoci Bavadra. Although Rabuka justified the coup as being necessary to preserve the peace between Indians and ethnic Fijians and to protect the land rights and political power of the latter, his move paved the way for some of the worst violence in the islands' history. On September 25 he staged a second military takeover in his effort to consolidate a power base. This move evoked angry responses, particularly from Australia and New Zealand, which imposed economic sanctions on Fiji. He called a meeting of diplomats from major countries on September 28, but they were prepared to recognize only Gov.-Gen. Ratu Sir Penaia Ganilau as head of state. Despite the opposition, Rabuka declared Fiji a republic in October, ending its 113-year link with the British crown. Rabuka's rank as lieutenant colonel had been confirmed in 1982, and after the first coup he was promoted to full colonel and made commander of the Fiji military forces by the governor-general. Following the second coup, he was made brigadier-general. As internal and foreign confidence in Fiji continued to decline and the country neared economic collapse, he admitted defeat and on December 5 announced that he would relinquish power to a civilian government. He later served as elected prime minister (1992-99).

Racicot, Marc (F.) (pronounced like roscoe) (b. July 24, 1948, Thompson Falls, Mont.), governor of Montana (1993-2001). A Republican, he worked in the Montana attorney general's office for 12 years, then successfully ran for the post himself in 1988. He ran for governor in 1992 after incumbent Republican Stan Stephens retired. Democrats, who then held both houses of the legislature by wide margins, had a spirited primary contest, with state Rep. Dorothy Bradley the winner; Racicot was nominated by a wide margin. In an unusually civil and specific campaign, both called for a 4% sales tax to be voted on in referendum, but Bradley favoured more government while Racicot called for downsizing. He won 51%-49%, and Republicans captured the state House. The sales tax was turned down, but he cut spending and state employment and turned the deficit into a surplus, reformed the expensive workmen's comp law, sponsored a 7% income tax rebate, and proposed welfare reforms. He supported a successful campaign finance referendum and persuaded voters to elect large Republican majorities to both houses in 1994. He was famously unassuming, lobbying legislators himself, speaking at a high school commencement with just one graduate, keeping his phone number listed and driving his own car, declining a salary increase though he was the nation's lowest paid governor. Like many mountain state Republicans, he wanted to revive the Tenth Amendment reserving powers to the state and opposed what he considered unwise federal policies like allowing the herd of bison in Yellowstone National Park to grow too large. He was reelected in 1996, beating former state senator Judy Jacobson, who was chosen only eight days before the election after the original nominee, Chet Blaylock, died of a heart attack. He was chairman of the Republican National Committee in 2002-03.

Raczynski

Raczynski, Eduard (Bernard) Andrzej (Maria) hrabia, English Count Edward Bernard André Maria Raczynski (b. Dec. 19, 1891, Zakopane, Poland - d. July 30, 1993, London, England), Polish diplomat. He joined the Polish foreign service in 1919, beginning in Copenhagen, then serving as first secretary in the Polish legation in London (1922-26). Thereafter he was deputy chief and then chief of the Eastern Department in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Warsaw. In 1932-34 he was Polish minister in Geneva, representing Poland at the League of Nations. He was ambassador in London in 1934-45, signing the Anglo-Polish pact that brought the U.K. into the war when Poland was invaded in 1939. A central figure in the Polish government-in-exile based in London during and after World War II, he served as foreign minister in 1941-43. In 1945 Britain recognized the postwar Communist government established in Warsaw. Raczynski refused to join it and wrote to Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden: "The Polish nation will never give up its rights to an independent existence and will never cease to struggle for it." Remaining active in émigré politics, he was chairman of the Polish Research Centre in London (1940-67), helped set up an alternative government-in-exile that existed from 1954 to 1972, and eventually served one term as president-in-exile (1979-86). On his 100th birthday he received an honorary knighthood from the queen.

Radhakishun, Pretaapnarian (Shawh Radhecheran) (b. 1935 - d. Jan. 6, 2001, Paramaribo, Suriname), Suriname politician. He was prime minister in 1986-87 and served as vice president (head of government) from 1996 to 2000 under Pres. Jules Wijdenbosch. The Wijdenbosch administration was forced to call elections a year early in 2000, as citizens of the South American former Dutch colony formed massive protests to call for the president's resignation over the economy's decline. Radhakishun, in response to the calls to step down, told reporters, "I'm not going anywhere." Still, the elections took place in May and the Wijdenbosch administration lost to Radhakishun's former party - the New Front coalition led by Ronald Venetiaan. Radhakishun had been a leader of one of the parties in the New Front, but in 1996 he defected to serve under Wijdenbosch. Shortly before his death, President Venetiaan confirmed that he had ordered Wijdenbosch and Radhakishun to account for millions of dollars allegedly spent under a secret security fund. Radhakishun had denied having such a fund. Wijdenbosch said he followed procedures.

Radhakrishnan

Radicová

Radhakrishnan, (Sir) Sarvepalli (b. Sept. 5, 1888, Tiruttani, India - d. April 17, 1975, Madras, India), president of India (1962-67). One of modern India's most respected scholars, he also led the Indian UNESCO delegation (1946-52), was ambassador to the U.S.S.R. (1949-52), and served as vice-president of India (1952-62) before becoming president. He was knighted in 1931 but no longer used the title after India became independent.

Radisic, Zivko (b. Aug. 15, 1937, Mt. Kozara, Yugoslavia [now in Bosnia and Herzegovina]), Bosnian politician. He was mayor of Banja Luka before the Bosnian war started. In 1998 he was elected as the Serb member on the three-man inter-ethnic presidency, ousting incumbent Momcilo Krajisnik of the SDS party. Radisic was the president of the Bosnian Serb Socialist Party, a branch of Yugoslav Pres. Slobodan Milosevic's ruling party. In the election, Radisic was the joint candidate of the Western-backed three-party Sloga (Unity) coalition led by Bosnian Serb Pres. Biljana Plavsic. His victory over Krajisnik was seen by the international community as a step forward in strengthening the peace process. In contacts with Western officials, Radisic said that he fully accepted the Dayton peace accords which created a single Bosnian state with two entities. While having little previous experience of government, he was seen by western officials as a pragmatic leader. He also supported economic reforms. In 1999 he temporarily suspended his participation in the collective presidency in protest at the decision of the international arbiter to proclaim the disputed northern town of Brcko a neutral district. He remained on the presidency until 2002, serving two terms as chairman (1998-99, 2000-01).

Radmilovic, Stanko (b. July 21, 1936, Oljasi, near Slavonska Pozega, Yugoslavia [now in Croatia]), president of the Executive Council of Serbia (1989-91).

Radojevic, Velimir (b. Feb. 15, 1956, Bijelo Polje, Montenegro), defense minister of Yugoslavia (2002-03). He was president of the city government (1989-93) and mayor (1993-97) of Bijelo Polje, several times deputy to the Montenegrin assembly, and federal minister without portfolio in Zoran Zizic's government (2000-01).

Rae, Bob, byname of Robert Keith Rae (b. Aug. 2, 1948, Ottawa, Ont.), premier of Ontario (1990-95); son of Saul F. Rae. He was elected in 1978 to the House of Commons as the member for the Toronto riding of Broadview, and he was reelected in 1979 and 1980 as the member for the riding of Broadview-Greenwood. He was named housing critic and then finance critic for the federal New Democratic Party (NDP) caucus. From 1979 to 1982 he served as vice-chairman of the Canada-United States Interparliamentary Committee. In late 1979 he introduced the no-confidence motion in the House of Commons that defeated Joe Clark and his Progressive Conservative government. On Feb. 7, 1982, Rae was elected leader of the Ontario NDP. Later that year he was elected to the provincial legislature for the riding of York South. In 1987 the NDP finished a poor second in the Ontario provincial election, and there were calls for Rae's resignation. In 1989 he considered running for the leadership of the federal NDP because there seemed to be a brighter future for him in federal than in provincial politics. On Sept. 6, 1990, however, all this was forgotten. The NDP won a majority in the Ontario general election and formed its first government in Ontario history. On October 1 Rae was sworn in as Ontario's first NDP premier. A committed federalist, he also took on the post of intergovernmental affairs minister because he believed that people wanted to hear about federal-provincial relations from the premier. The NDP lost the elections of 1995 and he resigned as leader in 1996. He later broke with the NDP and in 2006 unsuccessfully ran for the leadership of the federal Liberal Party. In 2008-13 he was again a member of the House of Commons and in 2011-13 was interim leader of the Liberal Party.

Raffarin, Jean-Pierre (b. Aug. 3, 1948, Poitiers, France), prime minister of France (2002-05). One of the few French leaders to have first pursued a career in the private sector, he began his political career as a supporter of Pres. Valéry Giscard d'Estaing and later was vice-president of Liberal Democracy - a pro-market party that eventually joined Pres. Jacques Chirac's Union for a Popular Movement (UMP). He was president of the Regional Council of Poitou-Charentes (1988-2002), a senator, and minister for small business (1995-97) under President Chirac. After Chirac's reelection in 2002, the relatively unknown Raffarin was chosen as prime minister because of his reputation as an unassuming provincial. It was Raffarin who coined the phrase la France d'en-bas - the ordinary people down below - with whom he identified. With good humour and broad shoulders, he loyally absorbed attacks more properly directed at his master Chirac until his authority had all but ebbed away. In 2003 he oversaw changes of the pensions and health insurance systems which were radical by French standards and triggered widespread opposition from trade unions and the left. He also pushed through a new decentralization programme. But heavy defeats for the ruling UMP at regional and European elections in 2004 prompted Chirac to order a slowdown of controversial reforms and a switch to a more "social" domestic agenda. Raffarin survived a reshuffle but his powers were circumscribed. As a new wave of social protests broke out in 2005, his popularity took a nosedive. He reached a disapproval rating of 76%, the highest in the Fifth Republic. The long-suffering Raffarin finally bowed out after the debacle of the failed referendum on the EU constitution.

Rafsanjani, Ali Akbar Hashemi(-), until about 1979 Ali Akbar Hashemi-Bahramani (b. Aug. 23, 1934, Bahraman village, near Rafsanjan, Kerman region, Iran), president of Iran (1989-97). He became a disciple of Ruhollah Khomeini in 1958 and acquired the Shi`ite Muslim title of hojatolislam (a rank below ayatollah). He was in Qom immediately preceding and during the religious unrest and riots of 1963 that led to the expulsion of Khomeini from Iran. He then became Khomeini's chief fundraiser inside the country. In 1964 he himself was arrested for antistate activities. He was arrested on a number of other occasions, serving his longest jail term in 1975-77 on charges of links with left-wing terrorists. After the shah's overthrow and Khomeini's return in 1979, he emerged as a leading member of the Revolutionary Council and became acting interior minister. He was elected to the Majlis (parliament) in 1980 and served as its speaker for the next nine years, gradually becoming the second most powerful figure in Iran's government. In 1987 he was appointed to the Council of Guardians, which ensures legislation conforms to the constitution and Islamic law. Intimately involved in the prosecution of the Iran-Iraq War (1980-88), he helped persuade Khomeini to agree to the ceasefire of August 1988. In 1989 he was elected president with over 90% of the vote. He quickly garnered increased powers for a previously weak executive office and skillfully promoted pragmatic policies in the face of resistance from Islamic hardliners. He was reelected in 1993. In 1997 he became president of the Expediency Council, a powerful arbitration body. He withdrew from parliament in 2000 after receiving an unexpectedly poor election result. In 2005 he unsuccessfully ran for president again. He is often, but not always, considered to be an ayatollah. In 2007-11 he was chairman of the Assembly of Experts. In 2013 he was disqualified from standing for president by the Council of Guardians.

Rahman, Latifur (b. March 1, 1936, Jessore, Bengal, India [now in Bangladesh]), chief adviser and foreign minister of Bangladesh (2001). He became a judge of the Appellate Division on Jan. 15, 1990, and was chief justice from Jan. 1, 2000, to March 1, 2001.

Rahman, (Sheikh) Mujibur, also called Sheikh Mujib, or Bangabandhu ("friend of Bengal") (b. March 17, 1920, Tungipara village, Faridpur district, Bengal, India [now in Gopalganj district, Bangladesh] - d. Aug. 15, 1975, Dacca [now Dhaka], Bangladesh), Bangladeshi leader. Although jailed briefly as a teenager for agitating for Indian independence, he began his formal political career in 1949 as a cofounder of the Awami League, which advocated political autonomy for East Pakistan, the detached eastern part of the nation of Pakistan. For a short time he held office in the United Front government of 1954, but his separatist politics led him into trouble with successive regimes. His imprisonment in 1966-68, for allegedly plotting against the Punjabi-dominated Pakistan government, incited mob violence that led to the downfall of Pres. Mohammad Ayub Khan in 1969. In the elections of December 1970, the Awami League took all but two of East Pakistan's seats, and thus a majority of all seats, in the National Assembly. After he and Pres. Agha Mohammad Yahya Khan failed to agree on a formula for Bengali autonomy, civil war broke out in March 1971. East Pakistan was proclaimed an independent republic called Bangladesh, with Mujib, newly imprisoned in West Pakistan, as the first president. The troops sent from West Pakistan to regain control of the eastern province were defeated with the help of India in December. In January 1972 he was released, stepped down as president, and became prime minister. In January 1975, faced with a disintegrating economy and widespread corruption in his government, he took tighter control and assumed the presidency again, now with sweeping executive authority. Just seven months later he was killed, along with most of his family, during a military coup.

Rahman, Ziaur, posthumously called Shahid (martyr) Ziaur Rahman (b. Jan. 19, 1936, Bagbari, Bogra district, East Bengal, India [now in Bangladesh] - d. May 30, 1981, Chittagong, Bangladesh), president of Bangladesh (1977-81). He came to political prominence following the August 1975 military coup in which Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the new nation's first leader, was killed. He was appointed chief of army staff by the new president, Khundaqar Mushtaq Ahmed, and attained still greater powers under Ahmed's successor, Abu Sadat Mohammad Sayem. When Sayem resigned the presidency for health reasons in April 1977, General Zia was the heir apparent. He promised reform and a return to democratic elections, but an attempted coup in November 1977 slowed the process. Nevertheless, eight months later Bangladesh's first elections held under universal suffrage took place. The results endorsed Zia's policies. During Zia's presidency, Bangladesh's relations with Pakistan improved, though there were continued border tensions with India. Zia was assassinated during a coup attempt led by Maj.Gen. Mohammad Abdul Manzoor, who in 1971 had fought beside him in the battle to win independence for Bangladesh (formerly East Pakistan).

Rainford, Roderick (George) (b. April 7, 1940), secretary-general of the Caribbean Community (1983-92).

Rainier

Rainier III, in full Rainier Louis Henri Maxence Bertrand Grimaldi (b. May 31, 1923, Monaco - d. April 6, 2005, Monaco), prince of Monaco (1949-2005). He was the son of Prince Pierre, Count de Polignac, and Princess Charlotte de Monaco, daughter of Louis II, prince of Monaco. He became a Grimaldi (i.e., received his mother's family name) in accord with a sovereign ordinance of March 18, 1920. Educated in England, Switzerland, and the University of Montpellier in France, he served in the French army (1944) during World War II and after the war studied at the University of Paris. His mother having renounced her rights to succession in 1944, Rainier succeeded as ruling prince upon the death of Louis II in 1949. He brought Hollywood glamour to Monaco by marrying (April 18, 1956) U.S. actress Grace Kelly, who became Princess Grace de Monaco (b. Nov. 12, 1929, Philadelphia, Pa. - d. in an automobile accident Sept. 14, 1982, Monte Carlo, Monaco); they had three children - Caroline (b. 1957), Albert (b. 1958), and Stéphanie (b. 1965). He led Monaco into an age of skyscrapers, international banking, and business. By the 1990s, gambling accounted for less than 5% of Monaco's annual income, the bulk of revenue coming from value added tax, tourism, commerce, and industry. Billionaires and millionaires poured in, drawn by the absence of income tax and the protection offered by the presence of policemen and security cameras on almost every street. Critics said the property boom had turned the former coastal beauty spot into a "little Manhattan." In 1993 Monaco gained the political recognition he sought for his principality with its entry into the United Nations.

Rajacic, Ilija (b. July 28, 1923, Banatsko Karadjordjevo, Yugoslavia [now in Vojvodina, Serbia] - d. Jan. 15, 2005, Novi Sad, Vojvodina), Yugoslav politician. He was prefect of Zrenjanin district in the 1950s, chairman of the Executive Council of Vojvodina in 1963-67 (and, ex officio, member of the Executive Council of Serbia in 1963-65), and president of the People's Assembly of Vojvodina in 1967-73 (and ex-officio member of the Presidency of Yugoslavia in 1971-73). He was forced to resign as a supporter of Marko Nikezic's liberal wing in the Serbian Communist Party and an advocate of closer ties of Vojvodina with Serbia.

Raja´i, Mohammad Ali (b. 1933, Kazvin, Iran - d. Aug. 30, 1981, Tehran, Iran), prime minister (1980-81) and president (1981) of Iran. He joined the Iranian Liberation Movement in 1960 and was imprisoned three times for his political activities and tortured by the security police, Savak; in 1980 he exhibited the scars on his feet to the UN Security Council. He headed the Ministry of Education in the first cabinet formed after the 1979 revolution. As a leading member of the clergy-dominated Islamic Republican Party (IRP), he was elected by the Majlis (parliament) on Aug. 11, 1980, as the second prime minister of the Islamic Republic of Iran. For more than nine months following the resignation of Mehdi Bazargan, Iran had had no prime minister. Three candidates for the post proposed by Pres. Abolhassan Bani-Sadr were rejected by the IRP, and Raja´i became prime minister against the advice of the president. He soon came in conflict with Bani-Sadr over his choice of ministers; only two-thirds of those originally put forward by Raja´i were included in the cabinet approved by the Majlis on September 10. Six weeks after Raja´i became prime minister, Iraq launched its attack against Iran. According to Tehran radio, he replied to an offer of Soviet military assistance by telling the Soviet ambassador that "Iran is not ready to exchange its independence for Soviet aid." In New York City in October to address the UN Security Council, Raja´i declared that "a fair settlement can be found only if the aggressor is conquered and punished, this is our final position." When Bani-Sadr fell from power in 1981, Raja´i was elected president by an overwhelming majority. But less than a month after taking office, he was killed by a bomb blast at the prime minister's office in Tehran.

Rajaonarivelo, Pierrot (Jocelyn) (b. June 17, 1946, Île Sainte-Marie, Madagascar), foreign minister of Madagascar (2011-13). He was ambassador to the United States in 1989-97.

M. Rajapakse

Rajapakse, (Percy) Mahinda, also spelled Rajapaksa (b. Nov. 18, 1945, Weeraketiya, Hambantota district, Southern province, Ceylon [now Sri Lanka]), prime minister (2004-05) and president (2005-15) of Sri Lanka. He turned to politics at the age of 24, entering parliament from the district of Hambantota, a constituency his father had represented between 1947 and 1960. He was in the forefront of many a struggle to safeguard workers' rights; in 1992, he led a 182-km protest walk from the capital Colombo to the deep south Kataragama. He was a controversial minister in Pres. Chandrika Kumaratunga's cabinet from 1994 to 2001. As labour minister he moved to introduce a labour charter, but his reforms were resisted by employers who pressured Kumaratunga to oust him from the ministry. His labour charter was not implemented. In 1997 he was shifted to the fisheries ministry where he became even more popular among the public by setting up houses for fishermen who had been living in temporary dwellings for decades. Despite his work as fisheries minister, the country's Buddhist clergy, who oppose fishing as a sin, took the extraordinary step of conferring an honour on him for his services to the country as a politician. In 2002 he became the leader of the opposition and in 2004 prime minister of a coalition government. In 2005 he was elected president, mainly with the votes of the majority Sinhala community, while his opponent Ranil Wickremesinghe drew the bulk of votes of the minority Tamil community - including areas in the north and east, where there was a boycott campaign by the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). He also took the defense and finance portfolios in the new cabinet. After the 26-year civil war ended with the defeat of the LTTE in 2009, he was reelected in 2010. He pushed through laws increasing presidential powers and filled the government with family members and friends. In 2015 he was defeated by Maithripala Sirisena, a former ally who broke with him in 2014.

Rajaratnam, Sinnathamby (b. Feb. 25, 1915, Ceylon [now Sri Lanka] - d. Feb. 22, 2006, Singapore), foreign minister of Singapore (1965-80). One of the founder members of the People's Action Party, he was first elected to the Legislative Assembly in 1959 and served in the Kampong Glam constituency for 29 years. Soon after being elected, he was appointed minister of culture. In 1966 he made the first television speech to be broadcast to Singaporeans. As Singapore's first foreign minister, he worked from scratch to set up the Foreign Service and formulated a foreign policy to put then little-known Singapore on the map of international politics. At home he introduced the policy of multiracialism, insisting that the three main races be accorded equal importance and significance. Based on this sentiment he penned the Singapore Pledge: "We the citizens of Singapore pledged ourselves as one united people. Regardless of race, language, or religion..." His last government post was that of senior minister (1985-88).

Rajoelina, Andry (Nirina) (b. May 30, 1974), president of the High Authority of Transition of Madagascar (2009-14). A former disc jockey, nicknamed "TGV" (after the French high-speed train) for his quick-fire personality, he was elected mayor of Antananarivo in December 2007, defeating the ruling party's candidate. On Dec. 13, 2008, the government closed down his private television network "Viva" after it broadcast an interview with former president Didier Ratsiraka. In 2009, accusing Pres. Marc Ravalomanana of being a dictator starving his people, Rajoelina used his charisma to mount a brazen challenge for the country's top office. In January he called for a general strike that turned violent and claimed dozens of lives. On January 31 he proclaimed himself in charge of Madagascar's affairs. On February 3 the government removed him as mayor. On February 7 he announced the setup of a transitional government. Turmoil and uncertainty persisted until March 17, when Ravalomanana gave up, having lost the support of the army. Rajoelina, who had turned the initials of his nickname into his movement's name: Tanora Gasy Vonona, or Young Dynamic Madagascan, repeatedly condemned what he said were shrinking freedoms on the island and also fiercely criticized a massive project to lease vast swathes of farmland to South Korean industrial giant Daewoo. He promised to organize a fresh presidential election within two years. The existing constitution, however, required a president to be at least 40, which ruled him out.

Rajoy

Rakhimbayev

Rajoy (Brey), Mariano (b. March 27, 1955, Santiago de Compostela, Spain), first deputy prime minister (2000-03), interior minister (2001-02), and prime minister (2011- ) of Spain. In 2004 he became leader of the Popular Party.

Rakhimbayev, Abdullo (Rakhimbayevich) (b. June 1896, Khodzhent, Turkestan, Russian Empire [now Khudzhand, Tajikistan] - d. [executed] May 7, 1938), chairman of the Council of People's Commissars (1933-37) and of the Central Executive Committee (1936-37) of the Tadzhik S.S.R. and co-chairman of the Central Executive Committee of the U.S.S.R. (1934-37).

Rakhimov, Murtaza (Gubaidullovich) (b. Feb. 7, 1934), chairman of the Supreme Council (1990-93) and president (1993-2010) of Bashkortostan.

Rakhmanov, Usain (Serdar ogly) (b. 1902 - d. April 21, 1938), chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the Azerbaijan S.S.R. (1933-37).

Rakhmatov, Mirzo (Rakhmatovich) (b. 1914, Dzhafar village, Semirechye oblast, Russia [now in Kazakhstan or Kyrgyzstan]), chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Tadzhik S.S.R. (1956-63). He was also Soviet ambassador to Yemen (Sana) (1966-72) and Mauritania (1972-75).

Rakhmon

Rakhmon, Emomalii, until March 2007 Emomali (Sharipovich) Rakhmonov (b. Oct. 5, 1952, Dangara, Kulyab oblast, Tadzhik S.S.R.), president of Tajikistan (1992- ). He is a hardline leader who came to power as Tajikistan was sliding into civil war following independence. Propped up by 25,000 Russian troops, he signed a peace accord with opposition forces in 1998.

Rákosi

Rákosi, Mátyás, original surname (until 1904) Rosenfeld (b. March 14, 1892, Ada, Hungary [now in Vojvodina, Serbia] - d. Feb. 5, 1971, Gorky, Russian S.F.S.R. [now Nizhny Novgorod, Russia]), Hungarian leader. An early adherent of Social Democracy, he was taken prisoner on the Russian front in 1915 and returned to Hungary as a Communist in 1918. In March-August 1919 he served as commissar for socialist production in the Communist government of Béla Kun, on the fall of which he escaped to Moscow. He was entrusted with various missions abroad. In 1924 he was dispatched to refound a Hungarian Communist Party, but he was apprehended by the Hungarian police in 1925 and, after a trial in which he defended himself with great courage and fluency, was sentenced in 1927 to 8½ years in prison from the date of his arrest. On the expiration of this term he was rearrested and sentenced (1934) to life imprisonment on new charges. In 1940 he was allowed to go to Moscow in exchange for some Hungarian battle flags captured by Russia in 1848-49. He returned with the Soviet army at the end of 1944 and became general secretary of the Hungarian Workers' (Communist) Party (1945-56). In 1945 he was also a member of the High National Council, the collective head of state. He soon consolidated political power in his hands, serving as deputy prime minister (1945-52) and prime minister (1952-53). Following Stalin's death in 1953, he was partially demoted in favour of the reform-minded Imre Nagy. In 1955 he was able to effect the dismissal of Nagy, but in July 1956 he was forced to resign from his party position by Nikita Khrushchev in order to placate the Yugoslav leader Marshal Tito, whom Rákosi had offended. His Stalinist methods and his subservience to Moscow had made him widely unpopular, and shortly before revolution broke out in October 1956, he fled again to the U.S.S.R. In 1962 he was stripped of his membership in the Hungarian party.

Rakovsky, Khrystyan Georgiyovych (Ukrainian), Russian Khristian Georgiyevich Rakovsky, original (Bulgarian) name Krustyo Georgiev Stanchev (b. Aug. 13, 1873, Kotel settlement, Bulgaria - d. [executed] Sept. 11, 1941, Oryol, Russian S.F.S.R.), chairman of the Council of People's Commissars and people's commissar for foreign affairs of the Ukrainian S.S.R. (1919, 1920-23). He was Soviet ambassador to the United Kingdom (1923-25) and France (1925-27). He was arrested in 1937 and given a 20-year prison sentence in 1938; when the German Wehrmacht arrived in Oryol in 1941, all political prisoners were executed.

Rakowski

Rakowski, Mieczyslaw (Franciszek) (b. Dec. 1, 1926, Kowalewko, Bydgoszcz province, Poland - d. Nov. 8, 2008, Warsaw, Poland), prime minister of Poland (1988-89). An officer in the Polish Army in 1945-49, he joined the Communist party in 1946 and from 1975 was a member of its Central Committee. In 1958-82 he was deputy editor-in-chief and then editor-in-chief of the prestigious weekly Polityka. In those years he was, in the eyes of popular opinion, a "liberal-minded" party man. In 1981 he became vice-president of the Council of Ministers and was appointed chairman of a committee dealing with the free trade union Solidarity. Subsequently, his popular image as a liberal changed completely, especially after a television appearance at the Lenin Shipyard in which he displayed considerable arrogance and contempt toward workers. After his appointment in 1985 as a deputy speaker of the Sejm (parliament), his political career seemed to decline. However, in 1987 he was elected to the Politburo and a secret document called "Rakowski's view" was circulated, including an accurate appraisal of the Polish political and economic situation. His appointment as prime minister in 1988 still came as a surprise. Viewed as an opportunist and a staunch opponent of Solidarity, he was not generally popular. Although a hardline Communist, he was convinced that far-reaching economic reforms were badly needed in Poland and that the free market economy should be introduced. One of his first "economic" moves was to close down the unprofitable Lenin Shipyard in Gdansk, the cradle of Solidarity. This was widely recognized as a political rather than an economic move and met strong protest by the shipyard's employees, one of whom was Lech Walesa. In 1989 he resigned as premier and was elected first secretary of the Communist party, which dissolved itself in 1990.

Rallis, Georgios (Ioannou) (b. Dec. 26, 1918, Athens, Greece - d. March 15, 2006, Athens), prime minister of Greece (1980-81); son of Ioannis Rallis; grandson of Dimitrios Rallis and Georgios Theotokis; nephew of Ioannis Theotokis. In 1950 he went into politics, being elected to parliament thereafter under the banner of the main right-wing party in its different mutations - Populist Party, Greek Rally, and Konstantinos Karamanlis's National Radical Union, which he helped found in 1955. He served in several cabinet posts from 1954 - minister of the presidency of the government (1954-56, 1974, 1974-77), communications and public works (1956-58), interior (1961-63, 1974), public order (1967), social welfare (1967), education (1976-77), coordination (1977-78, 1980-81), and foreign affairs (1978-80). Being a staunch anti-Communist he quit the party with others after disagreeing over the reform of the electoral law, which, he prophesied, would bolster the extreme left. Although his prophecy was vindicated, he rejoined Karamanlis in 1961 and was reelected. After the 1967 military coup, he was arrested repeatedly for his anti-regime activity. With the collapse of the dictatorship in 1974, he joined the first national unity government under Karamanlis, and when the New Democracy party won a landslide victory he became Karamanlis's closest cabinet aide. When in May 1980 parliament elected Karamanlis president of the republic, Rallis was chosen by New Democracy to succeed him as party leader and prime minister. The vote in the party's parliamentary caucus was 88 for Rallis against 84 for his sole adversary, Defense Minister Evangelos Averoff-Tossizza, a favourite of the party's right wing. Rallis's political moderation and candour guaranteed that the party would abide by Karamanlis's middle-of-the-road policies, and this tipped the scales in his favour. However, he lost the 1981 elections to the Panhellenic Socialist Movement, and thereafter he was replaced as party leader. He ran for parliament for the last time in April 1990.

Rallis, Ioannis (Dimitriou) (b. 1878, Athens, Greece - d. Oct. 26, 1946, Athens), foreign minister (1932-33) and prime minister (1943-44) of Greece; son of Dimitrios Rallis. He was also minister of marine (1920-21), economy (1921-22), interior (1933, 1944), communication (1933), aviation (1933-34), agriculture (1943-44), national defense (1943-44), labour (1943-44), and provisioning (1943). He was arrested in 1945 and sentenced to life imprisonment by a Greek court for his collaboration with the German occupation.

Ram, Jagjivan (b. April 5, 1908, Chandwa, near Arrah, Bihar, India - d. July 6, 1986, New Delhi, India), Indian politician. He joined the Congress Party in 1931 and became involved in social work, seeking to improve the condition of the untouchables; he also inaugurated the Agricultural Labour Movement in Bihar. He was parliamentary secretary to the government of Bihar (1937-39) and vice-president of the Bihar branch of the All-India Trade Union Congress (1940-46). He became a member of the All-India Congress Committee and during World War II was twice imprisoned by the British (1940 and 1942-43). In 1946 he became the youngest member of the provisional government. After independence he held a number of ministerial posts, including labour (1947-52), communications (1952-56), transport and railways (1956-62), transport and communications (1962-63), labour, employment, and rehabilitation (1966-67), agriculture and irrigation (1974-77), and, perhaps most effectively, defense (1970-74, 1977-79). Breaking with Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1977 over her "state of emergency" rule, he formed the Congress for Democracy, which, in alliance with the Janata Party, defeated Gandhi in that year's general elections. He wanted to be prime minister, but lost out to Morarji Desai. His Congress for Democracy then merged with Janata. He was deputy prime minister for some time in 1979, then became leader of the opposition. In 1980 he left the Janata Party and joined the Congress (U) party of Devaraj Urs, and in 1981 he formed his own Congress (J) party.

Rama Rao, N(andamuri) T(araka) ("NTR") (b. May 28, 1923, Nimmakuru, Krishna district [now in Andhra Pradesh], India - d. Jan. 18, 1996, Hyderabad, India), Indian politician. He entered government service in 1948 as a subregistrar but soon gave this up to become an actor. He also produced and directed films himself. An enthusiastic and successful campaigner for worthy causes, during India's border conflict with China in 1962 and the war with Pakistan in 1965, Rama Rao was active in raising money for national defense funds. In 1968 Pres. Zakir Husain conferred on him the Badmashri (Lotus) order. In March 1982 he turned to politics and founded the Telugu Desam ("Land of the Telugus") party to bring back, in his own words, "the 3,000-year-old heritage of the Telugu people." After a nine-month-long campaign in which he traveled more than 35,000 km and was seen and heard by 30 million people, his party emerged victorious in the January 1983 legislative assembly elections in Andhra Pradesh. He became chief minister of the state, but was forced to quit the following year after a conflict with Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. He was reinstated later in 1984. Reelected in 1985, he served a four-year term before retiring. He made another comeback in 1994 but quit the state post in 1995 amid a row over the role of his new wife in the affairs of the state. His son-in-law, Chandrababu Naidu, toppled him as chief minister by wooing many lawmakers and some of his sons to his side. Thousands of people poured into the state capital of Hyderabad on hearing the news of Rama Rao's death. The state government, led by his estranged family, declared a seven-day mourning period.

Ramadier, Paul (b. March 17, 1888, La Rochelle, France - d. Oct. 14, 1961, Rodez, France), prime minister of France (1947). He was elected mayor of Decazeville, a small town in the southwest, in 1919 and held the office until his death. In 1928-40 he represented Villefranche-de-Rouergue in the Chamber of Deputies. He served as undersecretary in the public works ministry in 1936-37 in Léon Blum's first cabinet and as minister of labour twice in 1938 in the cabinets of Camille Chautemps and Édouard Daladier. During World War II he refused to support the Vichy regime and worked for the Résistance. He was minister of supply in 1944-45 and of justice in 1946-47. In 1947 he became premier of the first government of the Fourth Republic, and the only one to have included all parties in the National Assembly, though it was dominated by the tripartite coalition of his Socialists, the Popular Republican Movement, and the Communists which had held power since the liberation. The government had to cope with a succession of crises involving food shortages, labour unrest, and native resistance to French colonialism in Indochina, and with squabbles between the coalition members. He resigned in response to a growing loss of support for his government. He was later minister of state (1948) and defense minister (1948-49). He lost his seat at Aveyron in the 1951 general election but regained it in 1956, and in 1956-57 held the post of minister of financial and economical affairs under Guy Mollet. Ramadier, who opposed the return of Gen. Charles de Gaulle, was, like many other notable Fourth Republic politicians, defeated in the 1958 election and retired from national politics. He was also France's representative at the International Labour Organization in 1948-61, and its chairman in 1951-52.

Ramaema, Elias Phisoana (b. Nov. 10, 1933, Mapoteng, Basutoland [now Lesotho]), chairman of the Military Council of Lesotho (1991-93). He was arrested on Jan. 30, 1999, over the stabbing of Irish aid volunteer Ken Hickey, 75, on January 21 in Maseru.

Ramanantsoa, Gabriel (b. April 13, 1906, Tananarive [now Antananarivo], Madagascar - d. May 9, 1979, Paris, France), president of Madagascar (1972-75). He trained as an officer at the Saint-Cyr military academy in France and fought with the French Army in World War II and later in Indochina. He also took part in Madagascar's independence negotiations in 1960. He was appointed chief of staff of the new state's armed forces and remained uninvolved in politics until asked to assume power in May 1972 during the emergency that followed student riots that year. In October a referendum confirmed him as head of state in succession to Philibert Tsiranana, the nation's first president. General Ramanantsoa's renegotiation of cooperation agreements with France and his withdrawal of Madagascar from the franc currency area was seen as giving Madagascar a new independence from the former colonial power. But in 1975 he was obliged by internal unrest to hand over power to Col. Richard Ratsimandrava.

Ramaphosa, (Matamela) Cyril (b. Nov. 17, 1952, Johannesburg, South Africa), deputy president of South Africa (2014- ). He was also secretary-general of the African National Congress (1991-97).

Ramaroson

Ramaroson, Hyppolite (Rarison) (b. Sept. 28, 1951, Tananarive [now Antananarivo], Madagascar), head of the military directorate (2009) and foreign minister (2010-11) of Madagascar. In 2002 he became secretary of state for agriculture, livestock, fisheries, and ocean resources. In 2009 Pres. Marc Ravalomanana's public support collapsed and Andry Rajoelina made a bid for power. Finally the embattled Ravalomanana resigned and transferred power by ordonnance to a directorate to be headed by the military's highest-ranking officer, Vice-Admiral Ramaroson. The military categorically rejected setting up such an authority, but did so for the sole purpose of issuing their own ordonnance transferring power to Rajoelina.

Ramgoolam, Sir Seewoosagur (b. Sept. 18, 1900, Belle Rive, Mauritius - d. Dec. 15, 1985, Le Reduit, Mauritius), prime minister (1968-82) and governor-general (1983-85) of Mauritius. Entering local politics, he became mayor of Port Louis (1958). He built up the Labour Party, supported largely by Mauritians of Indian descent, and was a member of the Legislative Assembly from 1948. He held executive positions as liaison officer for education (1951-56) and as ministerial secretary to the Treasury (1958); he was leader of the House (1960). His party won the first elections (1959) held on universal suffrage. He became chief minister in 1961 and prime minister upon independence in 1968. While he was head of government, he also held other important portfolios; he was minister of finance (1960-68), minister of defense and internal security (1968-82), minister of information and broadcasting (1969-80), and minister of foreign affairs (1974-76). His long term of premiership was maintained after 1976 by skillful coalitions with other parties. Finally in 1982, his ruling coalition was defeated in general elections and he left government. He became governor-general the following year and died in that office. He was knighted in 1965.

Ramírez (Durand), Óscar (Alberto), alias Feliciano (b. 1953), Peruvian rebel leader. The wayward son of a retired Peruvian army general, he left his father's home in the 1970s after a bitter political argument between them. One of the first members of the Shining Path, he joined the movement by moving to the central highlands around Ayacucho, one of the country's poorest regions where it launched its campaign of violence by throwing sticks of dynamite in 1980. One of Shining Path founder Abimael Guzmán's closest aides, he quickly became one of the movement's toughest leaders, heading the rebels in their central Andean stronghold. Feliciano headed the decimated rebel movement since the 1992 capture of Guzmán. Guzmán's capture severely weakened the movement which in the early 1990s ruled huge swathes of Peru's countryside and carried out scores of car bombs in the capital. The government soon arrested hundreds of other militants with the help of tough anti-terrorist legislation and improved military intelligence. For years Feliciano eluded capture, leading hundreds of remaining rebels in jungle bastions where they carried out sporadic but deadly attacks against security forces. He last headed a group of about 40 die-hard militants in the remote gorges along Peru's eastern Andean slopes, according to military sources. A massive army sweep led to his arrest July 14, 1999, in Peru's central jungle. Feliciano had not been seen in public for years but was a household name in Peru. Analysts saw his arrest as a mortal blow for Shining Path. Rebel militants had rallied around Feliciano, considered first and foremost a military leader, while Guzmán was known as an ideologue for the Maoists. On August 30 a military court sentenced Ramírez to life in prison.

R. Ramírez

Ramírez (Carreño), Rafael (Darío) (b. Aug. 4, 1963, Caracas, Venezuela), foreign minister (2014) and vice president of political sovereignty (2014- ) of Venezuela. He was also minister of energy and mines (2002-05), energy and petroleum (2005-11), and petroleum and mining (2011-14) and vice president for territorial development (2009-13) and for the economic area (2013-14). In 2014 he was named permanent representative to the United Nations.

F. Ramírez

L.M. Ramírez

Ramírez Acuña, Francisco (Javier) (b. April 22, 1952, Jamay, Jalisco, Mexico), governor of Jalisco (2001-06) and interior minister of Mexico (2006-08). He was also mayor of Guadalajara (1998-2000), president of the Chamber of Deputies (2009-10), and ambassador to Spain (2012-13).

Ramírez de León, Ricardo Arnoldo,nom de guerre Comandante Rolando Morán (b. Dec. 29, 1930 - d. Sept. 11, 1998, Guatemala City, Guatemala), Guatemalan rebel leader. He was a top commander in the Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unit. He commanded a rebel section known as the Guerrilla Army of the Poor. Following decades of rebellion against the government, he served as a leader in negotiations that resulted in a peace agreement in December 1996. He then became secretary-general of a committee charged with organizing a new leftist party that was expected to participate in 1999 presidential elections.

Ramírez Pane, Rubén, Paraguayan diplomat. He was permanent delegate to the United Nations (1962-65) and ambassador to Uruguay (1965-71).

Ramlakhan, Robby D(ewnarain), foreign minister of Suriname (1991).

Ramli (bin) Ngah Talib, Tan Sri (Dato' Seri DiRaja) (b. March 16, 1941, Kampung Pasir Salak, Perak, Malaya [now in Malaysia]), chief minister of Perak (1983-99). He was speaker of Malaysia's House of Representatives in 2004-08. He received the title Dato' Seri in May 1984, Tan Sri on June 7, 1989, and Dato' Seri DiRaja in April 2000.

Ramos (Trigo), Álvaro (b. March 11, 1950), foreign minister of Uruguay (1995-98). He was also minister of agriculture (1990-93).

F. Ramos

Ramos, Fidel V(aldez), byname Eddie Ramos (b. March 18, 1928, Lingayen, Pangasinan province, Philippines), president of the Philippines (1992-98); son of Narciso Ramos. A graduate (1950) of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., he entered the Philippine army and served in Korea and Vietnam. Pres. Ferdinand Marcos (who was his second cousin) appointed him chief of the Philippine Constabulary (the national police) in January 1972. Eight months later Marcos imposed martial law, which Ramos then was responsible for enforcing; the Constabulary arrested thousands of political dissidents. He became a major general in 1973 and deputy chief of staff of the armed forces in 1981. In 1986, after Marcos was declared the winner of a presidential election widely denounced as fraudulent, Ramos and Defense Secretary Juan Ponce Enrile supported Marcos' opponent, Corazon Aquino. Their mutiny sparked the civilian "People Power" movement that forced Marcos into exile and propelled Aquino into the presidency. She installed Ramos as military chief of staff (1986-88) and then as defense secretary (1988-91) and he helped crush seven coup attempts against her. In 1991 he resigned and unsuccessfully sought the presidential nomination of the Democratic Filipino Struggle. On Jan. 2, 1992, he announced that he was the candidate of the new People's Power Party. Aquino, barred by the constitution from seeking a second term, endorsed him on January 26. Ramos was elected president on May 11, winning a seven-way race with only 24% of the vote. As president he ended military unrest through peace agreements with army rebels. In 1996, a peace accord was also signed with the main Muslim separatist group, the Moro National Liberation Front. His efforts to revitalize the economy resulted in rapid growth in 1994-97 and allowed the country to weather the Asian financial crisis of 1997-98.

Ramos, Narciso (Rueca) (b. Nov. 11, 1900, Asingan, Pangasinan province, Philippines - d. Feb. 3, 1986), foreign secretary of the Philippines (1965-68). He was also ambassador to Taiwan (1956-65). Before entering the foreign service, he served five terms as a member of the Philippine legislature.

Nereu Ramos

Ramos, Nereu de Oliveira (b. Sept. 3, 1888, Lages, Santa Catarina, Brazil - d. [air accident] June 16, 1958, São José dos Pinhais, Curitiba metropolitan region, Paraná, Brazil), governor of Santa Catarina (1935-45) and acting president of Brazil (1955-56); son of Vidal José de Oliveira Ramos Júnior. He was also vice president of Brazil and president of the Senate (1946-51), president of the Chamber of Deputies (1951-55), interim minister of education (1956), and minister of justice and interior (1956-57).

Ramos-Horta, José (Manuel) (b. Dec. 26, 1949, Dili, Portuguese Timor [now Timor-Leste]), foreign minister (1975, 2000-06), prime minister and defense minister (2006-07), and president (2007-12) of Timor-Leste. Because of his activities in the independence movement the Portuguese colonial authorities exiled him to Mozambique in 1970-71. After the 1974 coup in Portugal, he and other leaders in Timor founded the Revolutionary Front for an Independent East Timor (Fretilin), which declared East Timor an independent nation on Nov. 28, 1975; Ramos-Horta was named foreign minister. Just nine days later, while he was preparing to address the UN General Assembly in New York, Indonesia invaded East Timor. Ramos-Horta eventually settled in Sydney, Australia, from where he became one of the primary voices for East Timor in the international arena, trying to drum up support for what seemed like a lost cause. He spoke out against human rights violations by the Indonesian military forces and promoted a peace plan to end the violence in his country. Along with Bishop Carlos F.X. Belo, he received the 1996 Nobel Prize for Peace for his efforts. By then, he had distanced himself from Fretilin, and was acting as representative abroad of the National Council of Timorese Resistance, which was headed by Xanana Gusmão. His perseverance finally bore fruit, and he returned to East Timor in 1999 when Indonesia was forced by the international community to withdraw. In 2000 he became foreign minister in a transitional UN administration, continuing in the post after independence was achieved in 2002. He was thrust into the prime minister's role in 2006 to consolidate security in the country after several weeks of unrest. In 2007 he was elected president, winning 69% of the vote in the runoff against a Fretilin candidate. In 2008 he was seriously wounded in an assassination attempt. Running for reelection in 2012, he only came third.

Ramsamy, Prega, byname of Pakeereesamy Ramsamy (b. May 5, 1950, Rose Hill, Mauritius), executive secretary (2000-05) of the Southern African Development Community (SADC). He brought to his new job a wealth of experience as a tested technocrat. He was not a stranger to the politics of integration having spent much of his career working as an expert in the field in the region. In Mauritius he was employed as an economist at the Economic Planning Ministry. After eight years in government employment, he joined the Common Market for East and Southern Africa (COMESA) Secretariat in 1983 as a senior trade expert. In 1991, he was promoted Chief of Technical Cooperation and Aid Development at the organization. By the time he left in 1997 to join the SADC as Chief Economist, he had risen to the position of COMESA's Director of Development Finance and Technical Cooperation. At COMESA, he was credited with designing regional macroeconomic policies for sustainable economic growth, and developing project proposals for funding by donor agencies. He also provided policy guidelines to member states on trade liberalization, among other achievements. Ramsamy was later elevated to the position of SADC's deputy executive secretary before he took over from Kaire Mbuende in 2000 (until 2001 in an acting capacity). Close associates said he was "diplomatic" with "consensus-building" as one of his major attributes.

Ramsbotham, Sir Peter (Edward) (b. Oct. 8, 1919, London, England - d. April 9, 2010, Ovington, Hampshire, England), governor of Bermuda (1977-80); son of Herwald Ramsbotham, Viscount Soulbury. He was British high commissioner to Cyprus (1969-71) and ambassador to Iran (1971-74) and the U.S. (1974-77). He was knighted in 1972; he succeeded as 3rd Viscount Soulbury in 2004, but continued to be known as Sir Peter Ramsbotham.

Ramsey, Alexander (b. Sept. 8, 1815, near Harrisburg, Pa. - d. April 22, 1903, St. Paul, Minn.), governor of Minnesota (1849-53, 1860-63), mayor of St. Paul (1855-56), and U.S. secretary of war (1879-81).

Randall, Alexander W(illiams) (b. Oct. 31, 1819, Ames, N.Y. - d. July 26, 1872, Elmira, N.Y.), governor of Wisconsin (1858-62) and U.S. postmaster general (1866-69). He was also minister to the Papal State (1862).

Randolph, Peyton (b. September 1721, Williamsburg, Virginia - d. Oct. 22, 1775, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), president of the U.S. Continental Congress (1774, 1775). He was king's attorney for Virginia (1748-66) and a member (1748-49, 1752-75) and speaker (1766-75) of Virginia's House of Burgesses. A member of the colonial aristocracy, he regarded himself as a spokesman for both the crown and his fellow Virginians. He wrote the protest for the house against the proposed Stamp Act in 1764 but criticized Patrick Henry's famous attack on the tax in 1765 as illogical and intemperate. Looked to for leadership during the pre-revolutionary disputes with England, he played a moderating and cautious role, but became more radical over time. By 1773 he was serving as chairman of the Virginia Committee of Correspondence. In 1774 he led the seven Virginia delegates to the first session of the Continental Congress and was elected its first president, serving again in May 1775 before John Hancock, whose views were far more radical, succeeded him.

Rangel (Vale), José Vicente (b. July 10, 1929, Caracas, Venezuela), foreign minister (1999-2001), defense minister (2001-02), and executive vice-president (2002-07) of Venezuela. He made three unsuccessful presidential bids (1973, 1978, 1983) and hosted a weekly television talk show in which he frequently denounced corruption in the public sector. During his two years as foreign minister, Rangel ruffled feathers in Washington and Bogotá with outspoken criticism of the U.S.-backed Plan Colombia, an anti-drug offensive in the neighbouring Andean nation.

Ranke-Heinemann, Uta (Johanna Ingrid),née Heinemann (b. Oct. 2, 1927, Essen, Germany), German presidential candidate (1999). The reform communist Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS) nominated the theologian as its candidate because she was, like the PDS, a firm opponent of NATO's air campaign against Yugoslavia. But her main qualification for the job was her pedigree. Ranke-Heinemann is the daughter of West Germany's third postwar president, Gustav Heinemann of the Social Democratic Party. Ranke-Heinemann said she knew she had no chance to win, but hoped to attract some pacifist votes from the other parties.

Rann

Rann, Mike, byname of Michael David Rann (b. Jan. 5, 1953, Sidcup, Kent, England), premier of South Australia (2002-11). He was also high commissioner to the United Kingdom (2012-14). In 2014 he was appointed ambassador to Italy.

Ransom, Matt (Whitaker) (b. Oct. 8, 1826, Warren county, N.C. - d. Oct. 8, 1904, near Garysburg, N.C.), president pro tempore of the United States Senate (1895). He was also minister to Mexico (1895-97).

Rantanen, Paavo (Ilmari) (b. 1934), foreign minister of Finland (1995). He was also ambassador to the United States (1986-88).

Rao, P(amulaparti) V(enkata) Narasimha (b. June 28, 1921, Vangara village, Karimnagar district, Hyderabad [now in Telangana], India - d. Dec. 23, 2004, New Delhi, India), prime minister of India (1991-96). He was active in the independence movement during British rule. A member of the Andhra Pradesh legislative assembly in 1957-77, he supported Indira Gandhi in the Congress Party split of 1969. After holding various ministerial positions in the Andhra Pradesh government from 1962, he was chief minister in 1971-73, in which post he implemented a revolutionary land-reform policy and secured political participation for the lower castes. He was elected to represent the district of Hanamkonda, Andhra Pradesh, in the Lok Sabha (Indian parliament) in 1972, 1977, and 1980 and the district of Ramtek in 1984 and served as general secretary of the All-India Congress Committee in 1975-76. After Gandhi regained national leadership in 1980, she appointed Rao foreign minister (1980-84) and minister of home affairs (1984). Under her son and successor, Rajiv Gandhi, he served as defense minister (1985), minister of human resource development (1985-88), minister of health and family welfare (1986-88), and again as foreign minister (1988-89). After the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi in May 1991, the Congress (I) Party chose Rao as its leader, and he became prime minister (the first ever from southern India) after the general elections in June. He restructured India's economy by converting the inefficient semi-socialist structure left by Jawaharlal Nehru and the Gandhis into a free-market system. In the May-June 1996 elections Congress was roundly defeated. On September 22, he resigned as president of the party. In 2000 he was found guilty in a case of vote-buying dating from 1993, but the conviction was overturned in 2002.

Raskob, John J(akob) (b. March 19, 1879, Lockport, N.Y. - d. Oct. 14, 1950, near Centreville, Md.), U.S. politician. A financier who played a major role in the early 20th-century expansion of E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. and of General Motors Corporation, he left General Motors in 1928 when he was chosen chairman of the Democratic National Committee, to direct Alfred E. Smith's campaign for president. After defeat in the election Smith and Raskob became directors of the company that oversaw the construction and management of the Empire State Building, then the world's tallest building. He continued in his assaults on the Republican administration throughout Pres. Herbert Hoover's term, and his organization was credited with helping turn public opinion against Hoover and toward Franklin D. Roosevelt in the 1932 campaign. By then, however, he had lost control of the party. He turned against the Roosevelt New Deal as early as 1934, becoming leader of the Liberty League and other movements that tried without success to head off the second Roosevelt election.

Rasmussen, Poul Nyrup (b. June 15, 1943, Esbjerg, Denmark), prime minister of Denmark (1993-2001). He was appointed deputy leader of the Social Democrats by party leader Svend Auken in 1987 and was elected to the Folketing (parliament) in 1988. He served as chairman of the parliamentary committee on commerce, industry, and shipping from 1988 until 1992, when he dethroned Auken during an extraordinary party congress. When the Conservative-Liberal government of Prime Minister Poul Schlüter was forced from office by the "Tamilgate" affair on Jan. 14, 1993, Rasmussen, who had never before held high public office, formed a four-party majority coalition, enlisting the support of the seven-member Radical Liberal Party - holder of the balance of power between socialist and nonsocialist parties for some 70 years. The new cabinet was expanded to 24 members to accommodate wide participation by all partners in the coalition. He was faced with the task of overseeing Denmark's key second referendum on the Maastricht Treaty. Before the referendum, however, Denmark's currency became the object of market speculation that threatened the country's continued participation in the European exchange-rate mechanism. Surviving that crisis, he began the task of persuading the Danish people (especially his own party, which had voted 3-2 against Maastricht in the first referendum in June 1992) to approve a version of the treaty that now included special exemptions for Denmark. He promised tax reform if the referendum passed and called those who opposed it "raving mad." The May 18 referendum, voted upon by 86% of the electorate, passed easily, but two days of rioting in Copenhagen followed. He defied the polls in 1998 to win a narrow reelection, but in 2001 his government was defeated by the centre-right opposition which called for tighter immigration policies.

Rasool, Ebrahim (b. July 15, 1962, Cape Town, South Africa), premier of Western Cape (2004-08). He has also been ambassador to the United States (2010- ).

Rasputin

Rasputin, Grigory Yefimovich, original name Grigory Yefimovich Novykh (b. Jan. 22 [Jan. 10, Old Style], 1869/72, Pokrovskoye, near Tyumen, Siberia, Russia - d. Dec. 30 [Dec. 17, O.S.], 1916, Petrograd [St. Petersburg], Russia), Russian political figure. His reputation for licentiousness earned him the name Rasputin, Russian for "debauched one." After undergoing some kind of religious conversion, he became a starets (self-proclaimed holy man), gaining a reputation as a healer and prophet. His wanderings took him to St. Petersburg (1903), where the court circles were entertaining themselves by delving into mysticism and the occult. In 1905 he was introduced to the royal family, and in 1908 he was summoned to the palace of Emperor Nikolay and Empress Aleksandra during one of their hemophiliac son Aleksey's bleeding episodes. He succeeded in easing the boy's suffering (probably by hypnosis) and warned the parents that the destiny of both the child and the dynasty were irrevocably linked to him. He thereby became an influential favourite at the court, reaching the pinnacle of his power after 1915. Several attempts were made to take his life and save Russia from further calamity, but none were successful until a group of extreme conservatives, including Prince Feliks Yusupov, Vladimir Mitrofanovich Purishkevich, and Grand Duke Dmitry Pavlovich, formed a conspiracy to eliminate him. On the night of Dec. 29-30 (Dec. 16-17, O.S.), 1916, Rasputin was invited to visit Yusupov's home and, once there, was given poisoned wine and cakes. When he did not die, Yusupov shot him. Rasputin was able to run out into the courtyard, where Purishkevich shot him again. The conspirators then threw him through a hole in the ice into the Neva River, where he finally died by drowning.

Rasulov, Dzhabar (Rasulovich), Tajik Jabbor (Rasulovich) Rasulov (b. July 10, 1913, Khodzhent, Russia [now Khujand, Tajikistan] - d. April 4, 1982, Dushanbe, Tadzhik S.S.R.), chairman of the Council of Ministers (1946-55) and first secretary of the Communist Party (1961-82) of the Tadzhik S.S.R. He was also people's commissar of agriculture (1945-46) and minister of industrial crops (1946) and Soviet ambassador to Togo (1960-61).

Rasulzoda

Rath

Rasulzoda, Kokhir (b. March 8, 1961, Tadzhik S.S.R.), prime minister of Tajikistan (2013- ). He was also minister of land reclamation and water resources (2000-06) and head of Sughd oblast (2006-13).

Rath, David (b. Dec. 25, 1965, Prague, Czechoslovakia [now in Czech Republic]), governor of Stredoceský kraj (2008-12). He was health minister of the Czech Republic in 2005-06. He resigned as governor after being arrested on a corruption charge.

Ratiu, Ion (Augustin) (b. June 6, 1917, Turda, Transylvania, Hungary [now in Romania] - d. Jan. 16, 2000, London, England), Romanian politician. He was a diplomat who left the country in 1940 and settled in Britain. During the last years of the rule of dictator Nicolae Ceausescu, Ratiu's Free Romanian newspaper was one of the only reliable sources of news about the country. When Ceausescu visited Britain in 1977 and was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II, Ratiu chained himself to the railings outside London's Ritz Hotel to protest Britain's treatment of Ceausescu's repressive regime. After a business career that included founding the British shipping company Regent Line, Ratiu returned to his homeland in 1990 after the collapse of communism. He ran for president, but many Romanians distrusted the man they called "Mr. Bow-tie," partly because of his English manners and partly because he hadn't suffered the same hardships as millions of Romanians. Ratiu also founded the Cotidianul daily, which sponsored the cause of the centre-right National Peasant Party of which he was a leading member. At the time of his death, he headed the Romanian delegation of the Parliamentary Assembly of NATO.

Ratsiraka, Didier (Ignace) (b. Nov. 4, 1936, Vatomandry, Tamatave province, Madagascar), foreign minister (1972-75) and president (1975-93, 1997-2002) of Madagascar. After 16 years as military ruler he was beaten by Albert Zafy in Madagascar's first multiparty elections in 1993. In 1997 the retired admiral staged a comeback and defeated Zafy. After a disputed election in December 2001 he lost control of the capital to his opponent Marc Ravalomanana but for some months continued to control other provinces. Finally, in July 2002, he went into exile, and came to live in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France. On Aug. 6, 2003, after a trial that lasted just a few hours, he was sentenced in absentia to 10 years hard labour for embezzling public funds (he was accused of stealing $8 million from the central bank shortly before he went into exile). On Dec. 15, 2003, he was additionally sentenced to five years in prison for trying to get five of the island's provinces to secede during the 2002 political crisis. Ravalomanana was himself overthrown in 2009, and the new leader Andry Rajoelina said Ratsiraka was free to return home; he did so on Nov. 24, 2011.

Rattazzi

Rattazzi, Urbano (b. June 20, 1808, Alessandria, France [now in Italy] - d. June 5, 1873, Frosinone, Italy), prime minister of Italy (1862, 1867). In 1848 he was elected to the parliament of the Kingdom of Sardinia from his native town. By his debating powers he contributed to the defeat of the Cesare Balbo ministry, and for a short time held the portfolio of public instruction; afterwards, in the Vincenzo Gioberti cabinet, he became minister of the interior, and on the retirement of Gioberti in 1849 he became practically the head of the government. The defeat at Novara compelled his resignation in March 1849. His election as president of the chamber in 1852 was one of the earliest results of the so-called connubio with Count Cavour, i.e. the union of the moderate men of the Right and of the Left; and having become minister of justice in 1853 he carried a number of measures of reform, including that for the suppression of certain of the monastic orders. During a momentary reaction of public opinion he resigned office in 1858, but again entered the cabinet in 1859 as interior minister. In consequence of the negotiations for the cession of Nice and Savoy he again retired in January 1860. He was entrusted with the formation of a new ministry in March 1862. When Giuseppe Garibaldi offered to capture Rome, Rattazzi at first sanctioned the venture but, upon France giving signs of her displeasure, sent troops to intercept Garibaldi, who was wounded in the ensuing Battle of Aspromonte. In consequence of this action Rattazzi was driven from office in December. In 1867 he was again asked to be premier, and secretly aided a new march on Rome by Garibaldi. Once more he had to "back out," and the Garibaldian expedition and the Rattazzi ministry collapsed at the same time.

Rau, Johannes (b. Jan. 16, 1931, Wuppertal-Barmen, Germany - d. Jan. 27, 2006, Berlin, Germany), president of Germany (1999-2004). Long regarded as one of Germany's most popular politicians, he was sometimes called "Brother Johannes" or "the good man of Wuppertal" (his hometown where he served as lord mayor in 1969-70) for his penchant for avoiding controversy and his conciliatory approach to problems. He skillfully led Germany's largest state, Nordrhein-Westfalen, as minister-president for 20 years (1978-98). Helped by his carefully nurtured image of a politician who keeps close ties to the electorate, he won an absolute majority for the Social Democratic Party (SPD) in the state three times and remained one of the country's most admired politicians. He was chancellor candidate of the SPD in the 1987 election but was defeated by Helmut Kohl. He was also defeated in 1994 when he first ran for the office of president. Rau was the public's overwhelming choice for president but Kohl's conservatives controlled the federal assembly that elects the head of state and Rau was defeated in three rounds of contentious voting. Rau returned to Nordrhein-Westfalen, but stepped down in 1998 to make room for Wolfgang Clement, a younger leader with close ties to Gerhard Schröder, who became chancellor later that year. German media speculated that Rau moved aside in exchange for Schröder's tacit promise to nominate Rau again for president. Despite the public support, some leaders from both the SPD and the opposition complained that Rau was a candidate from the past, a man from the 1980s. But in 1999 he was elected to the lofty though powerless office. Rau's nonconfrontational approach to politics was shaped by his mentor, the third postwar president Gustav Heinemann, whose granddaughter he married.

Ravail, (Pierre Joseph Jean) Jacques (b. March 27, 1907, La Rochelle, France - d. 1971), prefect of Guadeloupe (1954-55). He was also prefect of the French départements of Corse (1945-47) and Vienne (1947-49) and ambassador to Upper Volta (1961-63).

Ravalomanana

Ravalomanana, Marc (b. Dec. 12, 1949, Imerinkasinina, Madagascar), president of Madagascar (2002-09). The self-made millionaire was elected mayor of Antananarivo in 1999. In 2001 he ran for president and won the highest vote, but while Pres. Didier Ratsiraka's government claimed a runoff was necessary, he insisted he won outright and declared himself president in February 2002. While he had strong support in the capital, the other provinces remained loyal to Ratsiraka at first, but Ravalomanana's forces subsequently gained control of them and Ratsiraka fled in July 2002. Credited with improving the country's infrastructure, such as roads, during his first term, Ravalomanana in 2006 became the first sitting president to be reelected in the country's history. In 2009, however, the history of 2002 almost repeated itself, as the mayor of the capital, André Rajoelina, declared himself president, led street protests, and ultimately succeeded in forcing Ravalomanana out of office. He was accused of authoritarianism and misspending public funds, and discontent was touched off by the fact that the economic growth of over 6% in recent years had not had much tangible impact on the lives of the majority of the population, which was still suffering from widespread poverty. He left for South Africa and in June was sentenced in absentia to four years in jail for alleged abuse of office in buying a $60,000,000 presidential jet. In September 2010 he was sentenced to life imprisonment for the killing of some 30 people during the 2009 street protests. Despite threats to arrest him, he returned to Madagascar on Jan. 21, 2012.

Ravan

Ravan Farhadi, Abdul Ghafoor (b. Aug. 23, 1929, Kabul, Afghanistan), Afghan politician. He was deputy foreign minister (1968-73) and ambassador to France (1973-75). He spent 20 months in prison (1979-80) for antigovernment activity and then remained in exile throughout the period of Communist rule. Later he became permanent representative to the United Nations (1993-2006), representing the anti-Taliban government during 1996-2001.

Rawabdeh, Abdul Rauf al-, Arabic `Abd al-Ra´uf al-Rawabda (b. Feb. 18, 1939, Sarih-Irbid, northern Jordan), prime minister and defense minister of Jordan (1999-2000). He was minister of communications (1976-78), health (1977-79), public works and housing (1989-91), and education (1994-96), mayor of Amman (1983-86), and an elected member of the lower house of parliament. When he became prime minister, government officials said Rawabdeh, a committed monarchist, had proved himself a capable administrator despite a reputation as a maverick.

Rawat

Rawiri

Rawat, Harish (Chandra Singh) (b. April 27, 1948, Mohanari village, Almora district, United Provinces [now in Uttarakhand], India), chief minister of Uttarakhand (2014- ). He was Indian minister of water resources in 2012-14.

Rawiri, Georges (b. March 10, 1932, Lambaréné, Gabon - d. April 9, 2006, Paris, France), foreign minister of Gabon (1971-74). He was also minister of information, tourism, posts, and telecommunications (1964-65), ambassador to France (1965-71), minister of transport (1975-89) and fisheries (1989-90), and first deputy prime minister (1980-90). He was president of the Senate from 1997 to his death.

J.J. Rawlings

Rawlings, Jerry John, original name Jeremiah Rawlings John1 (b. June 22, 1947, Accra, Gold Coast [now Ghana]), Ghanaian leader. Commissioned a second lieutenant in the Ghanaian air force in 1969, he became a flight lieutenant and expert pilot. Joined by 13 other young officers, he determined to clean up the army's corruption; on May 15, 1979, he led his colleagues in a confrontation with their superior officers. He was promptly arrested; his appearances at court-martial hearings attracted considerable public interest, and he was applauded on each occasion. He was sprung from prison on June 4 and promptly took over the leadership of a successful coup. He and his Armed Forces Revolutionary Council ruled for 112 days, during which time eight top military figures, including two former heads of state, were tried and executed. But the young revolutionaries did not break the army's pledge to restore Ghana to civilian rule, and Rawlings yielded power to a freely elected president, Hilla Limann. Two months after taking office, Limann retired Rawlings from the air force (November 1979). Rawlings continued to be a popular figure, however; and on Dec. 31, 1981, he overthrew Limann's ineffective government, accusing it of leading the nation "down to total economic ruin." He established a Provisional National Defense Council as the new government and imprisoned Limann and some 200 other politicians. In 1983 he began to adopt free-market measures, sharply reviving Ghana's economy, which by the early 1990s had one of the highest growth rates in Africa. In presidential elections in 1992, he received almost twice as many votes as his nearest opponent. In 1996 he was reelected with 57% of the vote. He did not run for a third term and left office in 2001.1 The Royal Air Force (which helped train pilots for the Ghana Air Force) made a clerical error when he joined up and he decided to keep the name they had given.

Rawlings, Mike (b. Aug. 25, 1954, Texas), mayor of Dallas (2011- ).

D.L. Ray

Ray, Dixy Lee, original name Margaret Ray (b. Sept. 3, 1914, Tacoma, Wash. - d. Jan. 2, 1994, Fox Island, near Seattle, Wash.), governor of Washington (1977-81). In 1963 the zoologist Ray became director of the Pacific Science Center in Seattle, where she sought to awaken public interest in science. Having served on numerous federal advisory groups before, she was selected by Pres. Richard Nixon in August 1972 to be a member of the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC), the first woman to be appointed to a full five-year term; she became chairman in 1973. She startled observers in Washington, D.C., with her unconventional lifestyle, living in a trailer house with two dogs, which she occasionally took to work. When the AEC was phased out in 1975, she was named assistant secretary of state in charge of the Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs. She resigned later that year, complaining that Secretary of State Henry Kissinger had given her the cold shoulder. Returning to Washington state, the conservative Democrat was elected the state's first female governor in 1976 and served one four-year term. Her straightforward political style frequently ruffled feathers, but was also considered refreshing by many. In 1980 she was defeated in the Democratic gubernatorial primary by James A. McDermott. She was an outspoken supporter of the nuclear industry and critic of the environmental movement, being the co-author of two books on the subject, Trashing the Planet (1990) and Environmental Overkill (1993).

Ray, Robert (Francis) (b. April 8, 1947, Melbourne, Vic.), defence minister of Australia (1990-96). He was also minister of home affairs (1987-88) and immigration (1988-90).

Ray, Siddhartha Shankar (b. Oct. 20, 1920, Calcutta [now Kolkata], India - d. Nov. 6, 2010, Kolkata), chief minister of West Bengal (1972-77) and governor of Punjab (1986-89). He was also Indian minister of education and social welfare (1971-72) and ambassador to the United States (1992-96).

Rayburn, Sam(uel Taliaferro) (b. Jan. 6, 1882, Roane county, Tenn. - d. Nov. 16, 1961, Bonham, Texas), U.S. politician. He began public life as a state legislator in Texas (1907-13), being chosen speaker of the state House of Representatives in 1911. Elected to the U.S. House of Representatives 25 consecutive times from 1912, he served for more than 48 years (1913-61), a record tenure at the time of his death. He became influential in government circles and in closed-door party councils, becoming known as "Mr. Democrat." As chairman of the powerful congressional Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce (1931-37), he was a major architect of Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal program. He was co-author of six important laws: the Emergency Railroad Transportation Act (1933), "Truth-in-Securities" Act (1933), Securities Exchange Act (1934), Federal Communications Act (1934), Rural Electrification Act (1936), and the most bitterly contested of all New Deal legislation, the Public Utility Holding Company Act (1935). He was elected Democratic leader of the House in 1937 and became speaker in 1940, holding the post for the rest of his life except for two periods of Republican control of the House (1947-49, 1953-55), for a record total of 17 years. He was a trusted adviser to President Roosevelt and to three succeeding presidents. He was a dedicated party man who described himself as a Democrat "without prefix, without suffix, and without apology." He was permanent chairman of the Democratic national conventions of 1948, 1952, and 1956. After winning a battle in 1961 to enlarge the House Rules Committee - the hardest internal House struggle in 50 years - Rayburn's health failed, and he returned to his Texas home before Congress adjourned that year.

Raymond, Adrien (Louis) (b. June 30, 1928, Port-au-Prince, Haiti), foreign minister of Haiti (1971-74); son of Louis Raymond. He was also ambassador to the United States (1984-86).

Raymond, Alex (b. Oct. 12, 1916, Chambéry, France - d. Aug. 5, 2008, Toulouse, France), president of the Regional Council of Midi-Pyrénées (1981-86). He was mayor of Colomiers from 1966 to 2001.

H.J. Raymond

Raymond, Henry J(arvis) (b. Jan. 24, 1820, near Lima, N.Y. - d. June 18, 1869, New York City), U.S. politician. He assisted Horace Greeley on the weekly New Yorker in 1840 and then on the daily New York Tribune in 1841-48. Having obtained the backing for a venture of his own, he in 1851 founded the New York Daily Times, renamed The New York Times in 1857. As editor and proprietor of this paper until his death, he did much to elevate the style and tone of newspapers in his day. During the American Civil War of 1861-65, as in the war of France and Piedmont against Austria in 1859, he acted as a war correspondent. He was a member of the New York state assembly in 1850 and speaker in 1851 and again in 1862. Although he had been a valued employee of Greeley, they became political enemies. Raymond's nomination over Greeley on the Whig ticket for lieutenant governor of New York in 1854 led to the dissolution of the famous political alliance of Greeley, Thurlow Weed, and William H. Seward and contributed to the demise of the Whig Party. Raymond was elected and served for two years. He took a prominent part in the formation of the Republican Party and drafted a statement of party principles known as the "Address to the People," adopted by the new party's convention in Pittsburgh in February 1856. He prepared most of Pres. Abraham Lincoln's platform in 1864 and was chairman of the Republican National Committee (1864-66). He was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives in 1865-67, but due to his independent stand lost favour with his party and was denied renomination. In 1867 his nomination as minister to Austria, which he had already refused, was rejected by the Senate.

Rayneval, Alphonse (Gérard, comte) de (b. Aug. 1, 1813, Paris, France - d. Feb. 10, 1858, Paris), foreign minister of France (1849). He was also minister to the Two Sicilies (1848-49) and ambassador to the Papal State (1850-57).

Razafimahaleo

Razafimahaleo, Herizo (Jossicher) (b. Feb. 21, 1955, Ihosy, Madagascar - d. July 25, 2008, Antananarivo, Madagascar), foreign minister of Madagascar (1997-98). He founded the Leader Fanilo party in 1992 and was its president until 2002. He was a presidential candidate in 1996, 2001, and 2006.

Razafindehibe, (Amette) Étienne (Hilaire) (b. 1946, Antalaha, Madagascar), governor of Mahajanga (2001-02). He resigned June 13, 2002, and was arrested June 22. He was later sentenced to five years in prison. On Dec. 15, 2003, he was further sentenced to three years in prison for proclaiming the independence of his province during the 2002 political crisis.

Razzakov, Iskhak (Razzakovich) (b. Oct. 15 [Oct. 2, O.S.], 1910, Khorosan Boksa, Fergana oblast, Russia [now in Uzbekistan] - d. March 19, 1979, Moscow, Russian S.F.S.R.), chairman of the Council of People's Commissars/Ministers (1945-50) and first secretary of the Communist Party (1950-61) of the Kirgiz S.S.R. He was also chairman of the State Planning Committee (1939-40), a deputy premier (1940-41), and people's commissar of education (1941-44) of the Uzbek S.S.R.